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SECTIONAL  Vir.Wa  FRO.\ 

THE  MODEL  POULTRY 

English    Mastiff 


ARM  OFTHE  WEST. 

)GS     AND     PeRRETS, 

Write  for  prices  stating  requiremeii        nclosing  stamp  for  Catalogue. 

Address,  1-IE  EUREKA  POUL  TRY  CO., 

Port  Huron,  Mich. 


The  Eureka  Poultry  Co., 

PORT  HURON,  MICH, 


-BREEDERS    OF- 


HIGH    CLASS 

THOROUGHBRED 
POULTRY 

AND      DUCKS. 

20  Leading  Varieties. 

1000  High  Scoring  Birds 

TO  SELECT  FROM. 

EGGS    IN    SEASON 

MATED  FROM  PRIZE  WINNERS, 

CORRESPONDENCE  SOLICITED. 

Broiler  Eggs  by  the  loo  furnished 

from  Pens  mated  for  that 

purpose. 


M.    K.    BOYER. 


DePuys  Popular  Poultry  Books 


No.  1. 


All  About  Broilers 


And  Market  Poultry  Generally 


BY  M.  K.  BOYER. 


SYRACUSE,  N.  Y.: 

CLARENCE  C.  DePUY, 

PUBLISHER. 
189I. 


PRESS  OF 
CLARENCE  C.  DePUY, 
-     BOOK  AND  JOB  PRINTER, 
SYRACUSE,  N.  Y. 


? 


REFAGE. 


In  undertaking  the  task  of  writing  a  treatise 
on  broilers  and  market  poultr}',  it  shall  be  the 
aim  of  the  writer  to  overdraw  nothing,  but  to 
present  things  in  their  true  light.  It  is  with  the 
object  of  teaching  the  novice,  and  avoiding  mis- 
takes so  often  made  by  those  who  take  their 
maiden  step  into  the  business,  that  this  book  is 
written. 

No  theories  are  used,  ever}'  line  is  but  the 
record  of  the  experience  of  one  who  has  spent 
considerable  time  and  money  in  gaining  the 
knowledge;  and  in  the  hope  that  all  who  read 
may  be  benefitted,  we  beg  leave  to  remain, 

THE  AUTHOR. 

Hammonton^  N .  "J. 


Contents. 


CHAPTER   I. 

IS  BROILfK  RAISING  A  FAILURE?  HOW  MUCH  CAPITAL  IS  RE- 
QUIRED? HOW  MUCH  LAND,  AND  HOW  MUCH  TIME  IS  NEC- 
ESSARY?      WHAT   ARE  THE   PROFITS? 


CHAPTER  JI. 


INCUBATORS,  AND  HOW  TO  RUN  THEM.       BROODERS,  AND  HOW    TO 
MANAGE  THEM.       FEED,  AND  HOW  TO  GIVE  IT. 


CHAPTER  III. 


MISTAKES  IN  BROILER  RAISING.  PURE-BREDS  FOR  BROILERS. 
GOOD  CROSSES  FOR  BROILERS.  HOW  BROILERS  ARE  PRE- 
PARED FOR  MARKET. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


AN   EGG  FARM.       HOW  TO  BUILD  HOUSES.       HOW  TO    FEED    LAYING 
HENS.        HOW   TO  GET   FERTILE   EGGS.        HOW   TO  MARKET. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  V 


HOW  TO  FATTEN.      CAPONIZING.      PURE-BREDS  THE  BEST.      MONEY 
IN  DUCKS.       HOW  LARGE  A  FARM.       DISEASES  AND  REMEDIES. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


SIZE  OF  BREEDING  PEN.  A  VIRGINIAN'S  EGG  SECRET.  FRENCH 
LICE  REMEDY.  "SOUR  KROUT"  FOR  FOWLS.  E.  C.  HOWE's 
BROILER  FOOD.  PETERSON's  FEED  FOR  LAYING  HENS. 
PETERSON'S  FEED  FOR  YOUNG  CHICKS.  POULTRY  AT  THE 
EXPERIMENT   STATIONS. 


Fici.  2— PERMANENT  POULTRY  HOUSE. 


AN  OUT  DOOR  INCUBATOR  CELLAR. 


CHAPTER  I. 


IS  BROILER  RAISING  A  FAILURE.''  HOW  MUCH  CAPITAL  IS  RE 
QUIRED?  HOW  MUCH  LAND,  AND  HOW  MUCH  TIME  IS  NEC 
ESSARY?       WHAT  ARE  THE  PROFITS? 


These  are  questions  put  to  us  almost  every  day.  They  are 
not  the  easiest  to  answer,  by  any  means.  So  much  depends  up- 
on the  man  and  the  conditions.  "Is  broiler  raising  a  failure?" 
No.  Man}'  have  failed  at  it,  'tis  true,  so  have  hundreds  of  mer- 
chants, farmers,  and  other  tradesmen.  Because  the  man  has 
failed  in  the  dry  goods  business  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the 
dry  goods  trade  is  a  failure.  Because  farmers  are  annually 
sold  out  by  the  sheriff  dtjes  not  prove  that  there  is  no  monej^  in 
growing  crops.  Because  manufacturers  have  been  closed  by 
the  sheriff  does  not  go  to  say  that  their  goods  are  of  no  value. 
Then  neither  can  the  broiler  business  be  called  a  failure  because 
so  many  have  been  compelled  to  blow  out  the  lights.  Most  of 
the  failures  in  all  business  come  from  some  cause  in  the  main 
chargeable  to  the  operator. 

This  is  not  the  business  for  a  novice,  unless  the  novice  i.« 
willing  to  pay  a  reasonable  sum  for  his  experience.  The  success- 
ful broiler  raisers  of  to-day  are  men  that  have  generally  paid 
pretty  dearly  for  the  whistle!  If  there  were  no  failures,  if  every 
Tom,  Dick  and  Harry  could  step  right  into  it  and  make  money,' 
it  would  not  be  long  before  prices  would  drop,  caused  by  a 
gkitted  market 


lO  ALL    ABOUT    BROILERS 

This  may  noL  be  pleasant  to  the  ambitious  novice.  He  had 
supposed  that  to  raise  chickens  for  market  was  as  easy  as  rolling 
off  a  log.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  hard  work ;  "eternal  vigilence." 
The  successful  broiler  raiser  is  a  man  of  pluck,  energy,  perse- 
verence.  He  has  good  business  principles,  and  he  puts  them  to 
play.  He  is  up  and  doing.  You  will  always  find  him  at  his 
post.  From  October  to  July  he  fairly  resides  in  the  brooder 
house.  God  pity  the  poor  "invalid,"  the  delicate  woman,  the 
"child"  that  undertake  the  task  without  knowing  what  is  before 
them. 

We  have  seen  men  start  up  the  farm,  get  good  incubators, 
erect  substantial  houses,  put  in  a  number  one  brooding  system, 
start  out  with  good  hatches,  fill  up  a  number  of  pens  with  fine 
chicks — and  then  greet  us  with  mouth  and  eyes  wide  open, 
saying:  "I  didn't  know  there  was  such  hard  w-ork  connected 
with  the  raising  of  chicks."  It  is  not  so  much  the  muscular 
work,  in  fact  there  is  very  little  of  that,  but  the  staying  up  late  at 
night  watching  the  incubators,  the  getting  up  early  in  the 
morning  for  to  care  for  those  hatched,  the  continual  vigilence 
for  signs  of  sickness,  the  lookout  for  enemies  of  all  kinds,  and 
the  myriads  of  little  things  that  take  up  so  much  care,  and  that 
dare  not  be  neglected. 

A  neglect  of  these  little  things  is  what  has  caused  more 
failures  than  anything  else.  Business  principles  must  be  applied 
to  poultry  affairs  as  well  as  anything  else,  only  all  people  do  not 
think  so.     They  find  out,  later  on,  hoAvever,  to  their  sorrow. 

"How  much  capital  must  I  have.^"  It  is  a  stunner.  It 
depends  upon  many  things.  Some  men  in  some  places  can 
start  in  a  small  way  with  three  hundred  dollars.  We  have 
known  others  to  invest  two  thousand  dollars  in  the  start.  But 
the  best  plan  is  to  begin  small.  Commence  at  the  bottom  of 
the  ladder  and  climb  up.  There  are  a  great  many  things  to  be 
considered. 

First, — There  must  be  the  incubator  house  and  incubators. 

Second, — The  brooding  house  and  the  brooders. 


AND    MARKET    POULTRY    GENERALLY.  11 

Third, — The  eggs  for  hatching. 

Fourth,— Fuel,  feed,  vour  board,  and  general  running 
expenses  for  five  or  six  months. 

All  these  need  capital,  even  after  the  chicks  are  hatched  it 
will  take  four  months  to  grow  them  to  the  marketable  size. 
Up  until  the  first  shipment  is  made,  there  is  no  chance  for  a 
penny  of  income,  but  all  outgo. 

The  best  and  safest  plan  is  to  put  up  a  brooding  house  to 
accomodate  several  hundred  chicks  at  a  time,  get  two  small  incu- 
bators (say  two  hundred  capacity  each),  and  thus  begin.  Of 
course  this  will  only  do  when  run  in  with  other  work.  The  other 
worjc  must  ^ive  you  your  living,  and  when  you  have  fairly 
educated  yourself  then  will  be  the  best  time  to  enlarge  your 
plant,  and  devote  your  entire  time.  If  those  who  have  failed 
could  have  started  in  just  that  way,  there  would  have  been  less 
disaster. 

A  small  plant,  like  the  one  just  described,  would  be  profitable 
for  the  farmer.  He  could  install  his  son,  daughter  or  wife  into 
the  general  care  of  it,  and  it  would  become  a  valuable  adjunct. 
Of  course  the  drudgery  work,  like  carrying  water,  cleaning  up, 
etc.,  should  not  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  woman— it's  man's  work; 
but  the  madam  will  run  the  incubators  and  brooders,  nine  times 
out  of  ten,  better  th^n  the  man. 

In  Henry  Phillips's  immense  brooding  establishment  in 
Hammonton,  one  of  the  largest  in  this  country,  Mr.  Phillips's 
mother  attends  to  the  incubators,  and  she  does  remarkable  work, 
keeping  that  mammoth  brooder  filled  up  right  along.  So  Mrs. 
Bradbury,  wife  of  W.  H.  Hr  Bradbury,  of  the  Valley  Avenue 
Egg  Farm,  Hammonton,  successfully  runs  the  incubators.  And 
the  Misses  Pressey,  daughters  of  G.  W.  Pressey,  manufacturer 
of  the  Hammonton  incubators,  have  made  many  sales  for  their 
father's  machines  by  producing  plump  and  extra  fine  broilers. 
We  might  mention  more,  but  these  show  that  the  patience,  per- 
severence  and  grit  of  the  women  count  wonderfv;lly  in  the  work. 


12  ALL    ABOUT    BROILERS 

"How  much  land?"  Well,  you  cannot  run  a  broiler  estab- 
lishment on  a  town  lot.  We  ivould  want  five  acres.  The  space 
taken  up  by  the  brooder  will  not  be  much,  but  to  guarantee  suc- 
cess, there  must  be  plenty  of  room  left  for  old  fowls,  to  supply 
the  eggs.  The  wise  broiler  raiser,  and  the  one  that  makes  the 
most  out  of  it,  raises  his  own  eggs.  Last  year,  those  that  bought 
up  their  eggs,  averaged  a  hatch  of  about  35  per  cent.  Such 
costs  cut  deep  into  the  profits. 

"How  much  time.^"  All  the  time  possible.  Those  that 
raise  large  numbers  are  always  at  their  post.  Incubators  must 
be  \vatched,  brooders  must  be  watched;  and  between  cleaning 
the  brooders,  preparing  the  feed,  watering  the  stock,  testing  the 
eggs,  and  all  the  other  necessary  work,  time  goes  very  fast,  and 
the  day  is  spent  before  one  is  well  aware  of  it.  The  more  time 
you  spent  at  the  work,  the  better  results  you  will  have. 

Now,  "what  are  the  profits.'"'  Profits  vary.  The  average 
cost  of  an  egg  in  winter  can  be  safely  put  down  at  two  cents. 
Two  hvindred  eggs  would  cost  four  dollars.  To  run  a  lamp 
machine  (supposing  you  are  using  that),  will  average  a  cent  a 
day — twenty-one  days  would  bring  it  twenty-one  cents.  Say 
that  you  have  a  good  test  when  you  examine  your  eggs  about 
the  seventh  day,  and  that  you  find  seventy-five  per  cent  of  them 
fertile.  That  would  reduce  the  number  of  eggs  down  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty,  making  their  value,  say  two  and  a  half  cents 
each.  The  hatch  comes  off,  you  get  one  hundred  chicks  (50  per 
cent,  is  a  good  average — incubator  manufacturers  claim  to  the 
contrary,  notwithstanding),  and  each  chick  costs  four  cents 
each,  or,  in  other  words,  the  one  hundred  chickens  cost  when 
one  day  old,  four  dollars  and  twenty-one  cents,  counting  in  the 
cost  of  the  oil. 

But  they  won't  all  live.  Twenty-five  are  most  apt  to  die. 
Then  the  seventy-five  will  be  worth  to  you  about  five  and  a  half 
cents.  To  take  a  chick,  and  raise  it  up  to  a  pound  and  a  half 
or  two  pounds  weight  (broiler  size)  will  cost,  including  brooding, 
and  not  counting  labor  at  all,  about  fifteen  cents  a  pound — two 


AND    MARKET    POULTRY    GENERALLY.  1 3 

pounds,  thirty  cents,  original  value  of  chick  five  and  a  half  cents, 
total,  thirtj-five  and  a  half  cents. 

The  market  price  for  broilers  is  from  thirty  cents  per  pound 
upwards.  The  early  birds  capture  the  best  prices.  Thirty  cents 
is  a  good  average,  making  sixty  cents  for  a  two  pound  chick, 
leaving,  after  subtracting  the  cost  given,  a  margin  of  twenty- 
four  and  a  half  cents  on  each  bird.  But  then  it  costs  five  cents 
each  to  have  a  bird  stabbed  and  dry  picked,  and  this  leaves  about 
nineteen  and  a  half  cents  profit,  out  of  which  must  yet  come 
your  labor. 

Now  this  estimate  is  given  after  interviewing  nearly  all  the 
broiler  men  in  this  section.  But  even  that  profit  amounts  to 
considerable  where  several  thousand  birds  are  annually  raised. 
It  is  a  hard  matter  to  get  down  to  the  cost  and  profits  of  a  busi- 
ness that  varies  as  does  this,  but  our  figures  are  impartially 
drawn,  with  no  intention  of  misleading. 


ALL    ABOUT    BROILERS 


CHAPTER  II. 


NCUBATORS,  AND  HOW  TO  RUN  THEM.   BROODERS,  AND  HOW  TO 
MANAGE  THEM.   FEED,  AND  HOW  TO  GIVE  IT. 


Which  is  the  best  incubator.'*  Who  can  tell.^  Ii  depends, 
upon  the  person  in  charge.  It  is  so  with  all  kinds  of  machinery. 
Simply  because  Jones  don't  know  how  to  rim  a  certain  machine 
is  no  criterion  that  the  machine  is  no  good.  We  have  run 
machines  that  have  been  condemned  by  others,  and  yet  our  success 
has  been  good ;  on  the  other  hand  with  a  certain  incubator  we 
could  not  do  any  hatching  at  all,  and  we  gave  it  to  a  lady  who  suc- 
ceeded wonderfully. 

During  our  experience  with  incubators  we  have  tried  many 
different  makes,  but  we  have  failed  to  secure  as  good  hatches 
and  strong  birds  from  hot  air  machines  as  from  those  in  which 
hot  water  is  used.  The  reason  for  this,  to  our  mind,  is  that  the 
hot  water  gives  more  of  a  moist  air  and  even  temperature  than 
hot  air.  If  it  is  not  this,  what  else  can  be  the  cause,  as  the  con- 
struction of  the  machines  are  alike  .^ 

The  French  are  skilled  poultrymen.  They  make  money  in 
the  business.  Read  the  descinption  of  their  hatcheries  and 
brooders,  and  you  will  find  that  hot  water  is  the  agent  clean 
through.  Here  in  Hammonton,  however,  hot  air  is  chiefly  used 
in  hatching,  yet  we  fail  to  find  the  vigorous  chicks,  on  an  average, 
that  we  can  daily  see  in  the  broods  that  have  been  brought  into 
this  world  by  means  of  hot  water. 


AND    MARKET    POULTRY    GENERALLY.  1 5 

The  Pineland  Incubator  Company,  of  Jamesburg,  N.  J., 
have  built  a  machine  partly  from  the  patterns  used  in  France. 
It  is  yet  on  trial,  but  the  hatches  so  f^r  have  been  remarkably 
good.  When  this  machine  is  perfected  there  will  be  a  revolution 
in  hot  water.  Nearly  all  the  new  makes  are  on  the  hot  water 
plan,  it  having  become  a  pretty  well  settled  fact  that  it  is  the 
only  true  method  that  can  be  employed. 

So  much  for  our  opinion ;  others  may  prefer  hot  air.  We 
use  both  at  present,  but  our  success  is  very  closely  attaching  us 
to  the  old  system. 

But  as  we  have  hinted  at  before,  it  is  not  so  much  the  make 
of  the  machine  that  gives  us  success  or  failure,  as  the  manner  in 
which  it  is  handled. 

In  the  first  place  the  operator  must  strictly  follow  the  man- 
ufacturer's directions.  Where  novices  generally  fail  is  in  the 
attempt  to  teach  the  manufacturer.  Their  ability  increases  too 
rapidly. 

Here  are  a  few  rules  which  are  imperative  for  success: 

There  must  be  an  even  tetnperature  in  the  machine.  That  is, 
the  thermometer  must  register  the  same  in  all  parts.  To  secure 
that,  the  incubator  must  stand  perfectly  level. 

The  outside  temperature  of  the  room  must  be  even.  We  have 
yet  to  hear  of  a  machine  that  is  not  affected  by  a  variation  in 
temperature  on  the  outside.  For  that  reason  we  recommend  a 
dry  cellar.  The  engraving  shown  in  this  book  (which  we  repro- 
duce from  the  American  Agriculturist)  of  an  out-door  cellar,  is 
by  far  the  best  arrangement  that  can  be  had.  The  illustration 
is  a  likeness  of  the  cellar  on  Frank  Hopping's  broiler  farm,  in 
Hammonton:  Mr.  Hopping  tried  it  last  year,  and  it  has  worked 
to  perfection.  The  temperature  of  the  chamber  was  even,  and 
there  was  less  trouble  with  his  incubators  than  formerly.  It 
can  be  made  any  size  wanted. 

Regulators  on  machines  need  regulating.  A  regulator  should 
be  set  at  loo  degrees,  so  that  when  103  degrees  are  reached  it 
opens  sufficiently  to  let  off  the   surplus   heat.     Anything   from 


l6  ALL    ABOUT    BROILERS 

loo  to  105  will  bring  good  results.  A  fall  of  temperature  to  90 
degrees  will  not  kill  the  hatch,  but  prolong  it,  while  no  degrees, 
if  allowed  to  continue  so  for  more  than  an  hour  will  end  the 
experiment.     Therefore,  the  regulator  needs  proper  regulating. 

Moisture  is  very  tiecessary.  It  is  nature's  provision.  Hens 
set  in  a  cool  place,  on  the  ground,  have  the  best  hatches.  The 
hen  that  goes  off  to  the  woods,  lays  a  clutch  of  eggs  and  then 
incubates,  returns  with  a  big  percentage,  notwithstanding  that 
she  has  exposed  herself  and  the  eggs,  to  the  inclemency  of  the 
weather.  We  favor  moisture,  and  plenty  of  it  after  the 
eighteenth  day. 

Turning  the  eggs  is  also  imperative.  "The  hen  don't  turn 
her  eggs,"  said  a  gentleman  to  us  one  day.  But  she  does. 
Watch  her  when  she  returns  to  her  nest  after  you  have  fed  her. 
See  how  she  twists  herself  about — she  is  then  turning  her  eggs. 
We  turn  them  in  the  incubator  morning  and  evening,  aboiit 
twelve  hours  apart.  But  we  stop  turning  them  after  the  chicks 
begin  to  pip  the  shell. 

Eggs  must  be  tested.  We  test  on  the  seventh  and  fourteenth 
day.  White  eggs  can  be  tested  on  the  fourth  day,  but  dark  eggs 
can  never  be  satisfactory  examined  until  about  the  seventh  day, 
and  we  have  made  that  the  time  of  our  first  test.  We  take  out 
all  the  clear  ones,  which  have  no  germ  in  them.  They  can  be 
used  in  cooking.  We  replace  all  doubtful  ones.  On  the  four- 
teenth day  we  retain  only  the  strong  ones,  and  the  cloudy  or 
weak  germed  eggs  we  break  up  into  the  soft  feed  for  our 
laying  hens. 

The  hatch  must  not  be  ta7nfered  -with.  After  the  hatch  is 
started,  keep  the  machine  closed.  Start  turning  the  eggs  about 
the  fourth  da}'.  When  you  take  the  tray  out  of  the  machine, 
close  the  door  or  drawer  and  after  you  have  turned  every  egg, 
replace  the  trays.  There  wall  be  a  fall  of  temperature.  Stay  by 
the  machine  until  the  heat  goes  up  again,  and  see  that  every- 
thing is  all  right  before  you  leave  it.  Do  not  open  the  door  or 
drawer  to  show  inquisitive  people  how  the  eggs  look.     There  is 


AND    MARKET    POULTRY    GENERALLY.  17 

nothing  for  them  to  see,  and  jou  are  running-  a  great  risk.  The 
hen  sits  very  closely,  not  even  coming  off  for  her  feed,  for  the 
first  few  days.  The  second  week  she  is  off  more  than  at  any 
other  time.  Towards  the  close  of  the  hatch  she  again  resumes 
her  close  work. 

Leave  the  chicks  alone.  When  the  chicks  are  coming  out 
the  shell  is  when  there  is  the  most  danger.  Leave  them  kick 
about  all  they  want  to.  Don't  try  to  help  them.  .  They  need  no 
help.  Those  that  are  too  weak  to  come  out  will  be  too  weak  to 
live  even  if  you  help  them  out.  Do  not  remove  a  chick  from 
the  incubator  for  twenty-four  hours.  For  every  time  you  do 
so,  you  lower  the  temperature,  and  imperil  the  hatch.  Do  not 
let  your  curiosity  get  the  best  of  you. 

There  are  more  suggestions  that  could  be  given,  but  the 
manufacturer's  circulars  will  explain  the  balance  to  your 
satisfaction. 

Having  hatched  the  chicks,  we  must  have  a  good  brooding 
system.  In  Hammonton  the  Pressey,  Packard,  Smyrna,  Pine- 
land,  and  nurseries  are  used. 

The  Pressey  brooder  is  run  by  an  oil  stove,  a  stove  being 
required  to  each  brooder.  They  have  given  the  best  of  satisfac- 
tion, the  onl}'  drawback  being  that  they  require  more  care  than 
any  of  the  other  three  systems  named. 

The  Packard  system  is  the  original  plan  used  for  large 
houses.  The  heat  is  given  by  a  large  stove,  sent  by  hot  water 
through  the  pipes  laid  under  the  brooders,  giving  a  bottom  heat. 

The  Smyrna  and  Pineland  systems  are  worked  upon  the 
same  plan,  giving  top  heat,  and  those  using  these  claim  they  do 
better  work  than  the  bottom  heat  plan.  We  always  favored  top 
heat,  as  it  is  more  after  the  hen  fashion.  She  gives  the  warmth 
from  her  body  over  the  eggs.  In  all  our  operations  in  artificial 
incubation  we  must  pattern  after  the  hen. 

Nurseries  are  valuable  for  chicks  until  they  are  a  week  or 
ten  days  old.  We  keep  them  in  there  vmtil  they  have  become 
strong,  and  accustomed  to  feeding,   when   we  remove  them  to 


l8  ALL    ABOUT    BROILERS 

the  regular  brooding  house.  By  the  use  of  nurseries,  the  mor- 
tality among  the  chicks  can  be  greatly  reduced. 

A  few  hints  on  the  management  of  brooders  will  not  come 
amiss : 

In  the  first  place  do  7iot  have  brooders  too  ->.varjn.  The  heat 
in  the  nurseries  should  be  kept  up  to  about  90  degrees  for  the 
first  week.  But  when  the  chicks  are  removed  to  the  brooding 
house,  they  should  be  gradually  accustomed  to  a  temperature 
of  about  80  degrees.  We  raise  better  chicks  at  this  temperature 
than  at  a  higher  one.  Too  much  heat  does  more  harm  than 
good.  Before  we  leave  our  brooder  at  night  we  take  a  look  at 
the  chicks.  If  they  are  squatting  about  the  brooder  they  are 
comfortable,  and  the  heat  all  right.  But  if  they  are  crowding, 
the  temperature  has  fallen,  and  you  will  need  more  heat. 

There  must  be  perfect  cleanliness.  A  departure  from  this  rule 
will  bring  about  sickness.  Clean  up  every  day.  It  is  but  a 
little  work  at  a  time,  and  it  pays.  On  bright  days,  w^hen  the 
chicks  are  running  out  in  their  yards,  open  up  the  windows,  and 
hus  thoroughly  ventilate  the  house. 

Have  sand  in  the  brooder  run.  It  gives  the  chicks  a  dust 
bath,  which  is  not  only  relished  by  them,  but  very  beneficial  in 
many  waj's. 

Avoid  dampness.  Nothing  will  kill  off  chicks  so  rapidly  as 
this.  Set  the  house  about  a  foot  above  ground,  have  a  board 
floor  upon  which  put  about  six  inches  of  sand.  This  makes  it 
proof  against  damp  floors,  and  as  we  line  the  outside  with  the 
best  quality  of  Neponset  Rope  Roofing  Fabric,  we  have  a  warm, 
dry  building  throughout  the  whole  year.  Under  our  floor  we 
have  quarter  inch  ware  netting,  which  keeps  rats  from  getting 
into  the  brooders.     Rats  are  dead  enemies  of  chicks. 

The  style  of  brooding  house  can  be  according  to  the  wishes 
of  the  builder.  Those  in  Hammonton  are  built  with  slant  roof, 
glass  sash  on  top,  as  per  diagram  herewith  given.  We,  however, 
do  not  favor  too  much  glass,  and  prefer  a  house  on  the  same 
plan  as  the  hen  house  which  we  illustrated  elsewhere.  Instead 
of  full  sash,  onl}'  half  sash  is  used.     All  glass  Avindows  should 


AND    MARKET    POULTRY    GENERALLY.  I9 

be  covered  at  night  by  curtains,  which  will  keep  out  a  great 
deal  of  cold.  Mr.  Pressey  uses  no  glass  at  all.  Instead  of  the 
sash  he  has  oiled  muslin  blinds.  On  nice  days  he  removes  them, 
and  lets  both  the  sun  and  air  come  in  with  full  force. 

In  feeding  chicks,  we  must  give  them  such  food  as  will 
grow  them  rapidly.  Our  plan  is  to  put  rolled  oats  before  them 
from  the  start,  with  boiled  milk  as  a  drink.  After  several  days 
we  give  a  mash  made  up  of  two  parts  bran,  one  pai't  corn-meal, 
and  a  handful  of  meat  scraps  to  a  pail  of  the  mixture.  This  is 
scalded  several  hours  before  feeding,  and  fed  Avarm— not  hot  nor 
sloppy.  Cracked  wheat,  and  cracked  corn  is  added  after  about 
tAvo  weeks  of  age.  Gravel,  or  grit  of  most  any  kind,  is  con- 
stantly before  them.  About  twice  a  week  we  add  bone-meal  to 
the  mixture.  We  never  feed  hard  boiled  eggs,  nor  do  we  use 
any  condition  powders.  The  finest  chickens  we  ever  grew  was 
on  this  meal  and  bran  diet. 

We  keep  forcing  them  right  along,  feeding  every  two  or 
three  hours  for  the  first  two  weeks,  after  that  about  three  times 
a  day.  By  Avay  of  variety  we  roast  potatoes,  and  then  cutting 
them  into  halves,  we  place  them  about  the  brooder.  It  does  not 
take  long  before  they  know  all  about  it,  and  the  potato  is  highly 
relished. 

The  broiler  men  in  Hammonton  vary  the  diet.  There  is  no 
fixed  rule.  Corn-meal  and  bran,  however,  go  into  the  composi- 
tion of  all.  Some  bake  regular  Johnny  Cakes,  Corn  Bread,  etc., 
all  of  which  are  very  good. 

Chopped  up  cabbage  leaves,  onion  tops,  and  any  greens 
available,  are  beneficial.  There  must  be  green  food  of  some 
kind  supplied. 

After  the  chicks  are  about  a  month  old,  we  change  the  feed 
somewhat,  by  giving  equal  parts  of  ground  corn  and  oats,  and 
bran;  to  which  meat  scraps  are  added.  But  at  the  same  time, 
cracked  corn  is  before  them  most  of  the  time.  If  we  have  chicks 
from  good  crosses,  or  suitable  purebreds,  our  experience  has 
been  that  this  bill  of  fare  will  make  marketable  birds  quicker 
than  any  other  mode  of  feeding. 


20  ALL    ABOUT    BROILERS 


CHAPTER  III. 


MISTAKES  IX  BROILER  RAISING.  PURE-BREDS  FOR  BROILERS. 
GOOD  CROSSES  FOR  BROILERS.  HOW  BROILERS  ARE  PRE- 
PARED FOR  MARKET. 


To  take  up  the  "Mistakes  in  Broiler  Raising,"  we  know 
we  tread  upon  delicate  grounds,  what  may  be  our  opinions  may 
not  be  accepted  by  others.  We  do  not  desire  to  open  up  a  sub- 
ject for  debate,  but  instead  wish  to  note  a  few  errors  in  the  busi- 
ness and  which  has  proven  of  no  little  consequence  among  the 
broiler  men  of  Hammonton  and  elsewhere. 

In  the  first  place  we  do  not  like  the  present  style  of  brood- 
ing houses.  There  is  entirely  too  much  glass  about  it;  while  the 
glass  will  let  in  considerable  sun  during  the  day,  it  likewise 
becomes  a  conductor  of  cold  at  night.  In  the  present  style, 
nearly  the  entire  front  of  the  roof  is  composed  of  glass — hot  bed 
sash.  It  has  become  necessary  to  cover  the  glass  on  the  inside 
with  a  curtain,  at  night,  to  keep  out  the  cold.  One-half  the  sash 
used  would  give  better  results.  There  is  room  for  improvement 
in  this. 

Then,  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  crowd  the  pens.  Without 
exception,  the  capacity  of  brooders  is  over-estimated.  In  lOO 
capacity  brooders  we  never  put  more  than  fifty  chicks,  and  not 
that  when  we  can  help  it.  It  is  an  undisputed  fact,  that  small 
flocks  in  chicks,  as  well  as  fowls,  do  best.  Overcrowding  causes 
more  deaths  than  anything  else,  and  when  broiler  men  realize 
this,  there  will  be  better  success. 


AND    MARKET    POULTRY    GENERALLY.  21 

Then,  we  consider  it  a  mistake  to  run  a  broiler  establish- 
ment without  an  egg  farm  attached.  If  every  raiser  would 
keep  just  enough  old  fowls  to  supph'  the  eggs  needed,  there 
would  be  more  chicks  hatched.  Buying  up  eggs  here  and  there, 
and  every\vhere,  does  not  onlv  put  a  heavy  expense  upon  the 
concern,  but  insures  more  unsatisfactory  results. 

Then,  we  consider  it  a  mistake  to  raise  chicks  on  a  high 
temperature  of  heat.  Brooding  at  loo  degrees  is  not  conducive 
to  health  or  success.  Begin  at  90°,  and  gradually  reduce  as  the 
bird  ages.     A  great  many  ills  are  caused  by  too  much  heat. 

Then,  we  think  there  is  too  much  soft  feed;  bran  and  corn- 
meal  with  cracked  grain  at  noon  and  night,  we  have  found  will 
grow  chicks  better  than  a  mess  of  soft  stuff  the  whole  day 
through. 

Then,  we  think  using  eggs  from  dunghills  is  wrong.  We 
look  upon  it  as  unprofitable,  and  believe  the  day  is  nearing 
when  the  thorough-breds,  either  in  their  puritj',  or  in  the  first 
results  of  good  crossing,  will  be  used  entirely.  While  it  is  true 
that  a  thorough-bred  cock  mated  to  dunghill  hens  will  make  a 
better  class  of  birds,  we  know  that  they  will  not  do  as  well  as 
the  first  mating  of  pure-breds. 

During  the  past  year  we  have  experiinented  with  thorough- 
breds— Wyandottes,  Plymouth  Rocks,  and  Langshans.  We 
have  been  enabled  to  grow  plump  birds  in  less  time  than  those 
have  who  have  used  eggs  from  common  fowls.  Besides,  later 
in  the  season,  when  broiler  prices  were  down,  we  could  pick 
out  the  best  marked  birds  to  be  used,  or  disposed  of,  as  breeders, 
and  at  good  prices.  The  prejudice  that  white  skinned  birds 
would  not  sell  in  the  markets,  is  fast  dying  out.  Large  lots  of 
them  are  annually  shipped  from  Hammonton,  and  the  returns 
are  the  same  as  from  the  yellow  skinned  ones.  The  Plymouth 
Rocks  and  Wyandottes  are  excellent  broiler  fowls,  especially 
the  latter.  The  American  Dominique  makes  a  capital  bird  for 
this  purpose.  The  Leghorn  is  likewise  much  used,  although 
we  like  it  better  crossed  upon  some  other  breed,  than  in  its 
purity.     Why  more  Houdans  are   not  used  by  broiler  men  we 


22  ALL    ABOUT    BROILERS 

cannot  understand.  They  are  a  quick  growing  fowl,  plump, 
and  affording  an  excellent  flavored  meat.  Besides,  the  Houdan 
eggs  are  remarkably  fertile. 

The  subject  of  pure-breds  for  market  poultry  is  yet  in  its 
infancy,  but  the  time  is  not  far  off  when  the  common  fowl  will 
be  entirely  wnped  out. 

Last  year  we  made  quite  a  number  of  experiments  in  cross- 
ing fowls,  and  met  with  remarkably  good  success.  Among  the 
many  tests  we  made,  were  Houdan  crossed  upon  Cochin,  Brahma 
and  Wyandottes,  and  Plymouth  Rock  upon  Leghorn.  In  the 
Houdan  crosses  we  secured  more  than  we  expected,  especially 
in  our  Houdan-Cochin  mating.  We  had  a  chick  from  the  start 
plump,  hardy  and  quick  growing.  At  twelve  weeks  of  age  it 
was  ready  for  market.  Although  the  idea  was  entirely  original 
to  us,  we  afterwards  heard,  that  W.  Cook,  the  English  poultry 
authority,  made  the  same  kind  of  e5:periment,  and  produced 
such  meritorious  birds  that  he  has  placed  them  upon  his  list  of 
fowls  for  market  purposes.  Houdan  crossed  upon  any  breed  is 
profitable. 

Our  Plymouth  Rock-Leghorn  mating,  while  it  also  proved 
to  be  good,  did  not  reach  the  mark  attained  by  the  aforesaid 
crossings.     Yet  we  secured  plump  and  quick  growing  carcasses. 

We  have  found,  and  so  has  every  practical  poultryman,  that 
in  the  endeavor  to  get  the  exactness  of  feather,  the  thorough- 
breds have  been  crippled  in  health.  Expose  a  pen  of  thorough- 
breds, and  a  pen  of  birds  from  crossing,  to  contageon,  and  the 
former  will  catch  the  disease  quicker  than  the  later.  This  is  no 
theory;  we  have  experienced  it.  The  infusion  of  new  blood 
attained  by  crossing  improves  the  constitution  of  the  offspring, 
and  where  one  aims  for  market  poultry  exclusively,  we  advise  a 
mixing  of  two  breeds. 

Of  course,  there  must  be  good  common  sense  used  in  the 
matter.  The  male  must  be  of  a  quick  growing  breed,  and  the 
female  of  a  solid  body,  broad  breast  variety.  Then  we  g'et  the 
meaty  broilers.  But  if  we  cross  birds  of  like  merits,  we  get 
nothing  better  than  what  each  of  the  class  used  affords. 


AND    MARKET    POULTRY    GENERALLY.  2^ 

Speaking  of  crosses,  recalls  to  us  a  query,  and  one  which 
may  interest  our  readers;  "what  makes  the  dunghill  fowl,  are 
not  crosses  dunghills?"  When  we  mate  two  thorough-breds 
we  have  a  cross.  The  young  from  this  cross  gives  us  the  idea 
we  are  working  for.  Then  we  must  stop.  If  we  mate  up  the 
birds  from  one  cross,  by  themselves,  we  are  losing  the  benefits, 
and  each  succeeding  cross  lessens  the  value.  Likewise  if  we 
promiscuously  yard  all  breeds,  and  allow  them  to  mix  up  hap- 
hazard, we  are  breeding  dunghills,  for  we  gain  only  to  lose 
again. 

In  fancy  poultry  breeding,  crossing  is  still  more  of  a  hard 
problem.  There  considerable  inbreeding  is  resorted  to  in  order 
to  retain  certain  points  and  add  others.  It  is  this  inbreeding 
that  produces  the  weakened  constitutions  we  have  referred  to. 

So,  then,  we  must  in  broiler  raising,  either  use  the  fowl  in 
its  purity  or  else  the  results  of  the  first  cross  of  pure-breds.  In 
no  other  way  can  we  successfully  conduct  the  business. 

The  preparing  of  broilers  for  market  is  generally  done  by 
experts.  The  legs  are  tied  to  a  rope  suspended  from  the  ceiling, 
and  the  operator  then  takes  the  bird  under  his  left  arm,  and  with 
killing  knife  in  right  hand  ptabs  the  bird  in  the  roof  of  the 
mouth.  No  sooner  is  the  bird  stabbed,  when  the  operator 
begins  pulling  the  feathers,  and  before  the  chick  is  through 
struggling  it  is  perfectly  bare.  Women  generally  do  the  pin 
feathering.     All  birds  are  dry  picked. 


ALL    ABOUT    BROILERS 


CHAP  LER  IV. 


AN   EG(i  P\\R>L       HOW  TO  BUILD  HOUSES.       HOW  TO    I'EED    LAYING 
HENS.       HOW  TO  GET  FERTILE  EGGS.       HOW  TO  MARKET. 


We  herewith  give  a  few  extracts  from  articles  we  have 
written  for  the  several  journals  with  which  we  are  connected, 
and  which  fully  cover  the  ground: 

To  successfully  run  an  egg  farm — the  eggs  for  table  use 
only — pullets  are  the  best  to  start  with.  We  have  always  argued, 
and  proven  by  our  own  experiments,  that  hens  or  pullets  will 
lay  more  eggs  when  not  receiving  the  attention  of  males,  than 
with  them.  Some  writers  disagree  with  us  on  that  score.  Eng- 
lish authorities  like  to  use  one  male  with  twenty-five  or  thirty 
females.  We  always  looked  upon  the  matter  in  this  light: 
When  a  cock  or  cockerel  is  used,  the  hens  or  pullets  much 
sooner  show  signs  of  wanting  to  hatch.  When  they  get  broody 
they  stop  laying,  and  idle  away  their  time.  This  is  a  loss  to  the 
owner.  Our  plan  is  to  exclude  the  males  from  the  yards  of 
laying  hens,  but  keep  several  small  houses  or  yards,  domiciled 
by  young,  vigorous  cockerels.  As  soon  as  a  hen  becomes 
broody,  we  put  her  in  one  of  the  yards,  and,  in  nine  cases  out  of 
ten,  she  will  change  her  mind  and  will  again  start  to  lay.  Then 
she  is  returned  to  the  fiock.  In  this  way  much  time  is  saved. 
So  many  make  a  grave  mistake  to  build  one  long  poultry  house. 
We  know  of  some  hen-houses  five  hundred  feet  long,  divided 
up  into  departments  ten  feet  each.     The  size  of  the  departments 


AND    xMARKET    POULTRY    GENERALLY.  2^ 

is  correct,  for  not  more  than  ten  fowls;  but  the  danger  in  having 
the  houses  all  in  one  is  the  liability  of  the  spread  of  contagion. 
Better  have  houses  forty,  feet  long,  four  .apartments  in  a  hovise. 
and  the  houses  separated  some  distance  apart.  This  will  give 
less  chance  for  the  spread  of  sickness.  One  other  great  mis- 
take is  to  start  in  with  a  large  flock.  It  is  all  well  enough  if  all 
other  conditions  are  equal,  but  in  the  majority  of  cases  they  are 
not. — rdxva  Homestead^  Des  Moines. 

That  there  is  money  in  supplying  eggs  for  table  use  there  is 
no  doubt.  We  believe  that  more  money  can  be  realized  in  this 
than  in  the  sale  of  eggs  for  fancy.  If  farmers  I  alnd  poultry  men 
generally  would  create  retail  markets — sell  direct  to  the  con- 
sumer— they  would  not  only  secure  good  prices,  blit  would  give 
more  general  satisfaction.  The  home  market  is  crying  for 
'Afresh  eggs."  Do  they  get  them.^  We  venture  to  say  that 
there  are  more  stale  eggs,  over  one  week  old,  palmed  off  to 
hotels,  stores  and  families,  than  fresh  ones.  How  many  eggs 
are  broken  open  that  do  not  show  a  red  streak  in  the  yolk.'' 
How  many  are  used  that  do  not  have  a  stale  flavor.?  Hotels  are 
getting  sick  of  it;  merchants  are  afraid  of  it;  families  are  indig- 
nant about  it,  and  no  wonder. 

Here  is  a  farmer  that  lets  his  hens  run  at  large.  They  lay 
wherever  they  please.  In  his  search  for  eggs  he  picks  one  up 
here  and  one  there.  Perhaps  a  week  afterwards  he  discovers  a 
whole  nest  of  them;  they  may  have  been  laid  hy  different  hens 
the  same  day,  or  they  may  have  been  the  accumulation  of  one 
hen  in  so  many  days.  It  is  the  later,  more  likely,  but  off -to 
tiiarket  they  go  anyhow;  go  as  fresh  eggs. 

Here  is  a  man  running  an  incubator.  At  the  end  of  the 
fourth  or  fifth  day  he  makes  his  test  of  eggs;  those  perfectly 
clear  are  infertile;  if  the  germ  has  started  and  died  it  can  hardly 
be  seen  in  so  short  a  time.  Off  they  go  to  market.  The  con- 
sumer never  knows  any  better.  They  are  perfectly  safe  to  use, 
but  they  have  a  stale  flavor  nevertheless.  They  may  have  been 
laid  two  or  three  weeks  before  they  were  put  into  the  incubator. 


26  ALL    ABOUT    BROILERS 

Four  days  under  the  heat  of  103  degrees  is  equal  to  one  week 
with  no  heat.  But  the  consumer  buys  "fresh  eggs"  all  the  same. 
— lozva  Homesteady  Des  Moines. 

It  is  necessary  to  have  comfortable  quarters.  We  give  an 
illustration  of  one  of  our  hen  houses,  which  is  complete  in 
every  way.  It  is  a  big  mistake  to  have  too  large  a  house,  as  in 
the  case  of  contageon,  the  entire  flock  are  placed  in  dan^fer. 

We  like  board  floors  in  hen  houses,  and  on  this  about  six 
inches  of  sand  or  dry  earth.  They  prevent  dampness,  and  are 
more  readily  cleaned. 

In  feeding  laying  hens,  care  must  be  taken  that  they  are 
not  given  too  fattening  food.  Wheat  is  the  best  grain  for  laying 
hens,  and  oats  comes  next.  A  morning  feed  of  bran  and  ground 
oats  and  wheat,  with  a  pint  of  meat  scraps  to  a  bucket  of  the 
mixture,  slightly  moistened;  with  a  scattering  of  wheat  or  oats 
among  leaves  or  other  litter  to  keep  the  fowls  exercising,  and 
an  evening  feed  of  wheat  or  oats,  we  find  the  best  &^^  food. 
We  suspend  cabbages  in  the  hen  houses,  just  high  enough  so 
the  fowl  must  jump  up  to  pick  off  a  piece.  Gravel  is  strewn  all 
over  the  yards,  and  boxes  of  oyster  shells  within  access. 

We  give  all  the  food  they  will  eat  up  clean,  but  no  more, 
and  as  a  rule  w^e  never  are  troubled  with  overfat. 

During  the  winter  months  w^e  give  a  little  corn  at  night. 

The  subject  of  fertile  eggs  is  one  that  is  commanding  con- 
siderable attention.  Some  writers  advocate  a  few  hens  to  a  cock, 
others  a  large  number.  The  best  results  in  our  yards  have 
come  from  flocks  of  eight  hens  and  a  cock  with  the  lighter 
breeds,  and  six  hens  and  a  cock  with  the  Asiatics.  It  is  a  good 
plan  to  change  males  several  times  during  the  season.  A  good 
range,  and  plenty  of  green  food  are  great  helps.  Two  males  in 
one  yard  never  do  well.  One  will  be  master,  and  the  other 
cowed  down. 

One  of  the  shrewdest  poultrymen  we  know  of,  is  continually 
catering  to  the  demands  of  the  market.  He  ships  broilers  when 
broileis  are  high;  he  rushes  his  roasters  to  the  stalls  when  the 
demand  is  great;  all  stock  goes  in  an  attractive  style. 


AND    MARKET    POULTRY    GENERALLY.  2'J 


CHAPTER  V. 


HOW  TO  FATTEN.      CAPONIZING.      PURE-BREDS  THE  BEST.      MONEY 
IN  DUCKS.       HOW  LARGE  A  FARM.       DISEASES  AND  REMEDIES. 


There  is  nothing  to  beat  corn  and  cornmeal  for  fattening, 
and  these  articles,  along  with  boiled  potatoes  and  meat  scraps, 
will  do  better  work  than  anything  else  that  can  be  given.  Our 
plan  is  to  give  scalded  cornmeal  and  boiled  potatoes  in  the 
morning,  to  which  is  added  a  pint  of  meat  scraps  to  a  bucket  of 
the  feed.  At  noon  give  whatever  green  food  is  on  hand.  For 
evening  feed,  all  the  whole  corn  they  will  eat.  Besides,  a  box 
of  grit,  and  a  box  of  broken  charcoal  must  be  constantly  within 
reach. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  less  exercise  the  foAvls 
have,  the  quicker  they  will  fatten.  Confine  them  to  small  yards. 
George  W.  Pressey,  of  Hammonton,  N.  J.,  has  a  fattening  house 
with  slat  flooring.  The  fowls  are  continually  roosting  and  eat- 
ing. In  about  a  week  or  ten  daj^s  he  is  enabled  to  send  heavy 
weights  to  market.  He  uses  the  house  principally  for  fattening 
his  broiler  stock.  He  grows  body  first,  and  then  fattens  them 
in  this  house  about  a  week  prior  to  shipment. 

Caponizing  is  drawing  the  attention  of  poultrymen  all  over 
the  country.  It  improves  the  quality  and  increases  the  quantity 
of  flesh.     The  best  prices  for  Capons  are  obtained  in  February 


JS  ALL    ABOUT    BROILERS 

and  March.  The  Plymouth  Rock  makes  an  excellent  capon, 
Dow  recommends  a  Dorking  cock  crossed  on  Brahma  or  Cocjiin 
hens,  and  then  re-crossed  with  Plymouth  Rocks.  We  have  not 
the  space  in  this  work  to  go  into  details,  but  would  recommend 
Dow's  book  on  ''Capons  and  Caponizing"  which  can  either  be 
secured  of  C.  C.  DePuv,  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  or  the  author  of  this 
book,  for  fifty  cents. 

Piirebrcds  are  the  best  for  the  market  poultryman.  It  is  a 
mistake  to  suppose  that  the  common  scrub  hen  is  just  as  good. 
In  an  article  in  the  Delaware  Farm  and  Home,  the  author  of 
this  manual  gives  these  pointers: 

In  breeding  purebreds  each  season  there  are  a  lot  of  pulls. 
The  best  marked  birds  should  be  picked  out,  and  some  of  the 
rest  could  be  yarded  and  the  offspring  sold  as  broilers.  Cock- 
erels could  be  fattened  up  and  sold  as  roasters.  In  this  way  tAvo 
objects  can  be  accomplished,  and  the  income  increased.  In  fact, 
whether  we  are  raising  fancy  poultry  or  not,  it  is  always  best  to 
stud}'  various  methods  by  which  little  financial  extras  cah  be 
secured.  They  add  considerably  to  the  amounts  necessary  to 
reduce  the  expense  column.  And  let  us  likewise  assure  our 
farmer  friends,  that  whether  they  use  or  sell  the  poultry  drop- 
pings, it  is  an  item  to  gather  them  each  day.  They  pay  for  the 
labor. 

If  a  man  goes  into  poultry  farming  to  win,  and  is  persevering, 
he  cannot  do  otherwise  than  succeed.  He  can  have  his  pure- 
bred stock,  his  broilers,  his  roasters,  his  eggs,  his  ducks,  his 
geese,  his  turkeys  and  even  his  squab  pigeons.  All  come  under 
the  one  head,  and  one  helps  the  other  along  admirably. 

Ducks  are  valuable  acquisitions  to  a  poultry  farm.  They 
are  always  worth  their  money.  Duck  culture  is  becoming  a 
very  important  industry,  A  great  many  farmers  are  taking  up 
this  branch,  and  the  public  is  rapidly  being  converted  toward  it. 
The  Pekins,  Cayuga,  Rouen  and  Aylesbury  varieties  are  the 
market  birds.  They  need  no  bathing  water,  and  are  valuable 
fowls.     Ducklings  are  very  easily  raised.     About  the  only  pre- 


AND    MARKET    POULTRY    GENERALLY.  29 

caution  necessary  is  to  keep  them  from  getting  their  backs  wet 
before  they  have  assumed  their  feathers.  The  best  duck  feed 
is  bran,  to  which  should  be  added  one-third  scalded  cornmeal, 
and  a  little  meat  scraps.  jNIiddlings  makes  a  good  change  with 
the  cornmeal. 

Ducks  can  be  bred  for  six  or  seven  years.  A  duck  at  seven 
years  of  age  is  not  as  old,  and  is  more  useful,  than  a  land  fowl 
at  half  that.  Change  drakes  about  every  three  years.  Top 
much  inbreeding  gives  dwarfs,  and,  in  our  experience,  makes 
the  birds  susceptible  to  cramps.  Too  much  whole  grain  is  also 
apt  to  bring  on  cramps,  and  a  damp  house  at  night  is  almost 
always  sure  to. 

Ducks  thrive  in  all  kinds  of  weather  during  the  day,  but  at 
night  they  want  warm,  drv  quarters.  Cover  the  house  floor  with 
leaves  or  chaff. 

The  feed  for  ducks  is  about  the  same  as  for  ducklings.  Less 
cornmeal  must  be  given  during  laying  season,  and  ground  oats 
used  instead. 

Hoxv  large  a  farm  should  a  man  starting  in  the  business 
have.^  The  author,  in^an  article  in  the  Western  Farm  jfournal, 
answers  as  follows: 

"What  do  you  call  a  large  poultry  farm.^"  "How  many 
fowls  can  a  man  manage  well.^"  These  are  every-day  questions. 
They  can  be  briefly  answered,  and  they  can  be  spun  out  to  fill 
columns.  The  size  of  a  poultry  farm  is  measured  by  the  results 
obtained.  A  man  may  have  a  thousand  hens  and  yet  only 
enough  to  do  credit  to  a  hundred  good  layers,  therefore  it  is 
necessary  to  start  small.  Erect  your  house;  build  it  wai-m  and 
strong.  Have  every  convenience.  Have  it  in  a  dry  situation. 
Put  in  a  board  floor,  and  on  top  of  this  several  inches  of  dry 
earth.  Attach  to  this  house  a  large  yard.  Then  put  in  your 
stock  and  begin.  Watch  all  their  movements.  Study  their 
habits.  Cater  to  their  wants.  After  this  has  been  successfully 
accomplished,  put  up  another  house,  being  equally  careful  to 
make  it  as  good  as  the  first.     Building  up   in   this   way,   success 


30  ALL    ABOUT    BROILERS 

can  best  be  obtained,  as  the  operator  has  a  better  chance  of  learn- 
ing the  details,  and  will  know  just  exactly  how  to  treat  each  pen. 
It  is  not  unusual  to  find  fowls,  even  of  the  same  breed,  that  vary 
in  appetite  and  general  characteristics.  By  thus  giving  indi- 
vidual attention,  three  hundred  hens  can  be  made  to  pay  a  better 
profit  than  a  thousand.  Too  large  a  flock  requires  so  much 
labor  that  the  work  is  apt  to  be  neglected,  and  the  many  small 
affairs  are  overlooked.  These  small  matters  very  often  count 
tremendously  in  failure  or  success.  One  thousand  would  nec- 
essitate the  employment  of  extra  labor,  and  it  is  not  every  day 
we  can  get  help  that  is  of  any  value.  Seven  hundred  extra  hens 
will  also  cost  $700  more  a  year.  They  must  be  good  hens,  and 
you  must  have  the  best  of  help,  if  you  want  three  times  the 
income  from  one  thousand  fowls  that  three  hundred  can  give. 
Hence  three  hundred  hens  make  a  big  farm. 

"How  many  fowls  can  a  man  manage.'"'  He  knows  that 
best  after  he  has  tried  the  work.  Some  men  can  easily  handle 
five  hundred  fowls.  It  would  take  others  the  same  amount  of 
time  to  take  care  of  three  hundred.  The  best  way  is  to  begin 
with  one  hundred — then  keep  on  growin'g,  but  the  moment  you 
find  that  the  work  is  becoming  too  bulky,  stop.  Don't  go  any 
further.  Make  it  a  rule  from  the  beginning  that  each  pen  is  to 
receive  all  the  attention  they  need,  and  just  as  soon  as  you  can- 
not do  that  stop  growing.  If  people  starting  into  this  business 
would  use  such  a  system,  there  wovild  be  more  paying  enterprises. 

The  diseases  of  fowls  are  not  so  extensive  as  some  writers 
would  make  us  believe.  Take  roup  and  cholera  and  we  have 
two-thirds  of  them  implied.  Both  are  contagious,  and  the 
sooner  the  victim  is  put  to  death,  the  quicker  will  the  trouble 
be  arrested.  It  is  a  mistake  to  fool  away  time  and  money  on  a 
sick  hen,  only  to  spread  the  disease  still  further.  We  believe  in 
preventatives,  and  treatment  in  mild  cases,  but  when  the  disease 
is  rooted,  the  best  economy  is  decapitation. 

The  best  preventative  of  disease  is  good  housing,  pure  water 
and  good  feed.     We  must  keep  our  fowls  from  catching  cold. 


AND    MARKET    POULTRY    GENERALLY.  3l 

We  must  see  that  they  are  comfortably  quartered,  that  thej  are 
regularly  supplied  with  pure,  fresh  water,  and  that  only  good, 
sound  grain  is  given  them. 

We. believe  in  tonics,  as  for  instance  tincture  of  iron  in  the 
drinking  water.  But  our  opinion  of  condition  powders  is  that  a 
little  of  it  goes  a  great  ways.  \Vc  never  use  any  of  ihe  patent 
egg  foods,  as  sad  experience  has  taught  us  that  over  stimulation 
produces  many  of  the  ills  in  the  fowl  family.  An  occasional 
evening  feed  of  onions,  chopped  up,  breaks  a  cold  better  than 
the  best  ofcondition  powder.  Cayenne  pepper  once  a  week  in 
the  soft  feed  is  the  best  of  egg  producers.  Linseed  meal,  a  pint 
to  a  bucket  of  feed,  once  a  week,  will  brace  up  the  fowls. 
Tincture  of  iron,  fifteen  drops  in  a  gallon  of  drinking  water  is 
the  best  of  stimulants. 

Fumigation  is  a  good  thing  in  the  hen  house.  Remove  the 
fowls,  close  the  doors  and  windows  and  burn  a  pound  or  so  of 
sulphur.  Place  in  an  iron  vessel,  and  ignite  by  a  piece  of  burn- 
ing paper.  It  is  needless  to  add,  get  out  of  the  house  as  soon  as 
the  sulphur  is  on  fire.  Keep  the  house  closed  for  several  hours; 
and  the  smoke  will  reach  every  crack  and  crevice,  killing  lice 
and  destroying  the  germs  of  disease.  Whitewash  the  interior. 
Put  an  ounce  of  carbolic  acid  to  a  pail  of  the  wash.  Put  it  on 
thick.  Kerosene  the  roosts  and  nests.  Keep  the  floors  clean. 
Remove  the  droppings  daily.  Cover  the  floors  with  chaff  or 
leaves,  and  scatter  the  grain  among  them.  Exercise  prevents 
idleness — idleness  breeds  disease. 

Don't  crowd  fowls  nor  chicks.  A  house  ten  foot  square  is 
not  a  bit  too  large  for  ten  birds.  It  is  a  mistake  to  put  more  in. 
Crowded  quarters  increase  the  louse  familv.  Lice  are  the  cause 
of  numerous  ailments. 

The  moment  a  fowl  gets  sluggish,  the  amateur  poulterer  is 
apt  to  dose  it.  Ten  chances  to  one  the  bird  has  lice.  Remove 
them,  and  the  trouble  generallj^  ceases. 

Good  common  sense  is  a  necessary  article  on  a  poultry  farm, 
but  we  are  sorry  to  say  it  is  a  remedy  often  neglected. 


ALL    ABOUT    BROILERS 


CHAPTER  VI. 


SIZE  OF  BREEDING  PEN.  A  VIRGINIAN  S  EGG  SECRET.  FRENCH 
LICE  REMEDY.  ".<OUR  KROUT"  FOR  FOWLS.  E.  C.  HOWe's 
BROILER      FOOD.        I'ETERSON's      FEED      FOR      LAYING       HENS. 

Peterson's  feed  for  young  chicks,     poultry   at  the 
experiment  stations. 


Opinions  in  the  number  of  hens  that  should  be  yarded  with 
a  cock  or  cockerel  differ.  Our  rule  is,  with  Asiatics,  six  females 
to  one  male.  With  the  American  class,  eight  females  to  one 
male.  And  with  the  Mediteranean  class,  twelve  females  to  one 
male.  Crowded  yards  are  never  profitable.  There  should 
always  be  an  extra  cock  on  hand,  so  that  a  change  can  be  made 
twice  in  the  season.     This  will  insure  more  fertile  eggs  in  winter. 

There  are  really  no  secrets  in  the  care  of  fowls  or  the  rais- 
ing of  chicks,  but  still  there  are  a  few  things  not  generally 
known,  and  they  might  be  profitable  to  the  reader. 

While  we  resided  in  Virginia,  a  neighbor  of  ours  owned  a 
large  flock  of  fowls  that  seemed  to  be  nearly  laying'  their  heads 
off.  And  this,  too,  while  eggs  were  very  scarce.  One  day 
while  inspecting  his  birds  we  asked  him  what  secret  he  possessed 
that  made  him  so  successful. 

"Well,"  he  replied,  I  take  oats  and  boil  them;  after  they 
have  boiled  a  few  minutes  I  fry  them  in  lard.  It  requires  some 
work,  but  the  results  pay  for  it. 


AND    MARKET    POULTRY    GENERALLY.  33 

l.ice,  as  we  have  said  before,  are  the  cause  of  a  great  inany 
ills  in  the  fowl  kingdom,  and  we  venture  to  sav  slay  more  birds 
than  roup  or  cholera.  Some  years  ago  we  received  the  French 
secret,  which,  although  we  have  never  personally  tried  it,  is 
said  to  be  excellent.  It  was  furnished  us  by  W.  W.  Blakslee, 
Jr.,  Weatherly,  Pa.     Mr.  Blakslee  says: 

"A  reliable  means  of  ridding  the  hen  roost  and  pigeon  loft 
of  vermin,  is  a  preparation  of  sulphur  and  carbon,  technically 
known  as  sulphuret  carbon.  In  France  it  has  been  thoroughly 
tested,  and  it  works  like  a  charm.  It  is  sure  death  to  the  insects 
which  prey  upon  pigeons  and  fowls,  without  injuring  the  birds. 
A  bottle  containing  the  solution  will  last  several  days,  and  the 
cost  of  it  is  small.  Put  two  ounces  of  the  sulphuret  carbon  in  a 
bottle,  open  at  the  mouth,  and  hang  it  by  a  string  in  the  hen 
house.  At  the  end  of  eight  days  the  bottle  should  be  refilled. 
The  remedy  is  infallible,  and  should  be  known  to  every  farmer's 
wife  and  poultry  raiser  in  the  country." 

The  Germans,  as  is  well  known,  are  great  "sour  krout"  eat-^ 
ers.  They  grow  fat  upon  it;  and  while  they  are  making  it,  they 
do  not  forget  the  fowls.  The  outside  leaves  of  the  cabbage, 
which  do  not  go  into  the  composition  of  the  regular  "krout"  and 
which  are  generally  thrown  away,  are  put  in  a  barrel,  in  layers, 
with  common  rock  salt.  They  stamp  this  as  solid  as  possible, 
and  then  allowed  to  ferment.  In  this  condition  it  will  keep  all 
winter.     It  is  cooked  and  fed  in  a  luke  warm  condition. 

E.  C  Howe  was  perhaps  the  most  successful  broiler  raiser 
in  Hammonton,  N.J.  He  is  out  of  business  now.  While  Mr. 
Howe  never  pretended  to  have  any  "secrets,"  he,  nevertheless 
had  his  own  way  of  running  his  establishment. 

Following  is  the  recipe  for  the  first  feed  for  chicks,  as  given 
the  writer  by  Mr.  Howe  himself: 

One  pint  of  cornmeal,  one  teacupful  of  bran,  one  table- 
spoonful  of  ground  meat.     Mix  thoroughly. 

Then  take  one  raw  egg,  half  teaspoonful  of  baking  soda, 
and  one  teacup  of  cold  water.     Mix  together  in  a  separate  dish 


34  ALL    ABOUT    BROILERS 

and  add  to  meal,  bran  and  meat.  Also  put  in  three  tablespoon- 
fuls  of  ground  bone.  Bake  in  deep  pan  for  two  hours.  When 
cool  crumble  up  for  them. 

After  the  chicks  are  ten  days  old,  gradually  wean  them 
over  to  ground  wheal,  oats  and  corn.  Always  keep  ground 
oyster  shell,  charcoal  and  bone  meal  before  them  in  separate 
dishes. 

Jacob  J.  Peterson,  of  Vineland,  N.  J.,  has  had  considerable 
success  witji  his  laying  hens,  and  has  kindly  furnished  us  the 
following: 

"Our  feed  is  very  simple,  and  not  expensive.  During  fall, 
winter,  and  spring  we  feed  clover  hay,  cut  fine  as  we  can  in  a 
hay  cutter.  To  this  we  add  ground  oats,  bran,  cornmeal,  wheat 
middlings,  equal  parts,  adding  a  little  salt,  such  as  is  used  for 
cattle. 

"After  it  is  thoroughly  mixed  we  pour  boiling  water  on  it 
and  cover,  and  let  it  stand  covered  until  it  has  thoroughly 
steamed.  Then  we  feed  it  hot.  It  is  surprising  how  they  will 
devour  it.  Also  during  cold  weather  we  give  our  hens  warm 
water  to  drink  morning,  noon  and  night. 

"Our  proportions  of  feed — say  for  fifty  hens — is  one  peck 
of  clover  hay,  and  four  quarts  of  ground  grain.  We  feed  this 
every  morning,  and  at  night  we  feed  wheat  and  cracked  corn, 
very  little  corn,  one-third  corn,  and  two-thirds  wheat.  This  we 
throw  in  a  lot  of  chaff  or  leaves,  making  them  work  for  their 
supper. 

"Our  ground  grain  proportion  is  as  follows :  oats,  one  bushel ; 
cornmeal,  twenty-five  pounds;  bran,  twenty-five  pounds;  wheat 
middlings,  twenty-five  pounds.  Ground  fine,  and  mixed  with 
the  clover  hay.  It  has  every  element  of  growth,  and  especially 
of  egg  production. 

"During  the  breeding  season  we  add  to  the  hay  feed,  three 
times  a  week,  about  one  quart  of  desiccated  fish  or  ground  meat. 
We  also  always  keep  before  our  hens  a  liberal  supply  of  coarsely 
ground  grit,  ground  bone,  and  charcoal. 


AND    MARKET    POULTRY    GENERALLY.  35 

"We  feed  also  to  hasten  moulting  with  our  hens,  which  we 
like  to  have  over  bj  early  fall.  For  this  we  add  to  clover  hay 
feed,  every  other  day,  about  one  pint  of  linseed  meal,  alternating 
with  desiccated  fish  or  ground  meat,  until  the  hens  are  done 
moulting,  then  we  discontinue  the  linseed  meal. 

"With  this  clover  diet  in  summer,  and  clover  hay  diet  in 
winter,  you  will  save  one-fourth  of  the  food,  and  your  hens  are 
not  liable  to  get  overfat,  and  will  keep  in  better  health,  the  eggs 
hatch  well,  and  chicks  grow  fast.  For  any  bowel  trouble,  and 
also  as  a  stimulant,  we  give  ground  ginger  to  our  laying  hens." 

Mr.  Peterson  also  gives  this  plan  for  feeding  young  chicks: 

"For  the  first  twenty-four  hours  give  no  feed  at  all. 

"First  day's  feed — Stale  bread  crumbs,  moistened  with  milk, 
alternating  with  stale  bread  crumbs,  every  two  hours.  Continue 
this  feed  for  the  first  ten  days,  after  which  gradually  withdraw 
the  bread  and  milk,  and  substitute  grain  food  (one-third  corn 
and  two-thirds  wheat,  ground  finer  than  cracked  corn)  morning, 
noon  and  night. 

"Give  no  water  to  drink  for  the  first  ten  days,  but  all  the 
skimmed  milk  they  want. 

'•Twice  a  week  give  boiled  potatoes  or  chopped  onions,  for 
variety's  sake. 

"It  is  also  a  good  plan  to  give  bread  and  milk  twice  a  week 
until  fully  grown,  to  which  can  occasionally  be  added  condition 
powder  to  strengthen  and  invigorate  them,  and  ward  off  disease. 

"Always  keep  a  good  supply  of  ground  grits,  and  ground 
charcoal  before  them. 

"Continue  this  feed  for  the  first  four  or  six  wrecks,  which  to 
our  mind  is  the  most  important  period  of  a  chick's  life,  and  from 
careful  study  and  experimenting,  we  find  this  food  to  contain 
every  element  necessary  for  the  growth  and  development  of 
chicks. 

"After  a  course  of  feeding,  such  as  we  have  described,  for 
six  weeks,  we  have  no  trouble  in  raising  chickens  for  either 
profit  or  pleasure.  In  fact,  our  loss  of  chickens  hatched  does 
not  reach  ten  per  cent,  a  week. 


36  ALL    ABOUT    BROILERS 

"If  you  have  no  faith  in  condition  powders  we  would  sug- 
gest a  very  simple  remedy  for  any  bowel  troubles,  acting  also 
as  a  stimulant:  add  to  your  soft  feed  a  tablespoonful  of  ginger 
to  a  quart  of  food.     Give  once  or  twice  a  day  until  bowels  change. 

"In  fact,  I  have  learned  in  several  year's  experience  and 
experimenting,  that  the  only  proper  way  to  raise  chickens 
either  large  or  small,  the  droppings  are  to  be  watched,  examined 
carefully  noted.  This  is  the  best  test  of  the  health  of  chickens. 
When  I  see  the  droppings  are  of  a  good  brownish  color,  capped 
with  white,  I  know  my  chickens  are  doing  n  ell." 

The  author  of  this  book  has  always  advocated  the  fact,  that, 
more  interest  should  be  taken  in  poultry  at  our  experiment 
stations.  It  would  be  furthering  the  interests  of  market  fowls. 
J.  li.  Drevenstedt,  the  well  known  writer  and  judge,  not  only 
hits  our  ideas  upon  the  subject,  but  gives  some  valuable  pointers 
in  the  following  article  contributed  by  him  to  the  Rural  New 
Torker.     It  is  worthy  a  perusal : 

It  seems  that  our  experiment  stations  do  not  think  sufficient 
interest  is  attached  to  poultry  culture  to  even  consider  the 
advisability  of  determining  whether  to  give  it  any  attention  or 
not.  Yet  there  is  nothing  of  greater  importance  than  this  very 
question  of  raising  poultry  for  profit.  The  following  questions 
are  often  asked: 

1.  What  are  the  best  breeds  for  ^^^^  production.' 

2.  The  best  breeds  for  the  general  farmer.'' 

To  determine  the  first  question  without  bias  or  favor  is  just 
what  is  needed.  Poultrymen,  as  a  rule,  have  their  own  notions 
and,  notwithstanding  all  absence  of  reliable  data,  rush  to  con- 
clusions just  as  their  eyes  are  saturated  with  the  apparent  quali- 
ties of  their  favorites.  Leghorn  breeders  claim  that  the  Leg- 
horn is  the  best,  Minorca  breeders  think  the  Minorcas  unexcelled. 
Hamburgs  are  by  many  considered  the  best  egg-producers. 
Houdans,  Creve  Coeurs,  Black  Spanish,  Red  Caps,  all  come  in 
for  the  lead ;  yet  no  reliable  competitive  test  has  ever  been  made. 
I  myself  have  made  but    few    tests,    and    those    with    Brahmas, 


AND    MARKET    POULTRY    GENERALLY.  37 

Wyandottes,  Leghorns  and  Andalusians.  In  order  to  make  a 
test  accurate  and  reliable  the  following  plan  should  be  pursued: 
About  March  15  hatch  at  the  same  time  Brahmas,  Cochins,  Ply- 
mouth Rocks,  Wyandottes  and  Langshans.  About  May  15  hatch 
Leghorns,  Minorcas,  Hamburgs,  Red  Caps,  French  and  Spanish 
breeds,  t.  e.,  non-sitters  kept  for  eggs  only.  These  breeds  mature 
earlier  than  Asiatics  and  Americans  as  a  rule,  and  if  hatched 
too  early  would  not  do  as  well  and  would  lay  too  early  and  per- 
haps fall  into  a  moult  in  winter,  which  is  not  desirable.  Begin- 
ning with  November  ist,  these  breeds  should  all  be  in  laying 
condition — some  should  have  already  laid.  The  birds  should 
be  penned  up  in  one  building;  the  pens  should  be  of  exactly  the 
same  size,  as  should  be  the  runs.  Place  ten  of  each  breed  in  a 
pen.  They  should  be  carefully  weighed  every  month  from  the 
date  of  hatching  to  the  time  of  penning  up  in  the  fall.  If  possi- 
ble, it  would  be  desirable  to  keep  each  variety  separate  from  the 
time  of  hatching  to  the  beginning  of  the  test,  and  to  feed  each 
all  they  will  eat  of  bran,  oats  and  wheat;  but  not  too  much  corn. 
If  they  have  a  grass  run  they  will  need  no  other  food,  except  a 
good  supply  of  fresh  water,  which  must  always  be  within  easy 
reach.  Chicks  require  water,  notwithstanding  all  reports  to  the 
contrary.  When  ready  for  the  test,  the  feed  should  be  carefully 
prepared  and  as  our  stations  have  each  a  Professor  of  Chemis- 
try, it  will  be  desirable  to  have  him  determine  the  rations  to  be 
used.  This  is  of  vital  importance,  as  much  mystery  is  still  con- 
nected with  profitable  feeding  for  eggs  and  meat.  I  would  sug- 
gest a  trial  as  follows:  Soft  feed  in  the  morning,  consisting  of 
bran,  ground  oats,  meal,  mixed  with  either  cut  hay,  cut  clover 
or  mashed  potatoes  and  whole  corn ;  wheat  or  buckwheat  fed  at 
night.  These  to  be  varied  every  two  weeks  in  all  the  pens 
except  one,  the  birds  in  which  are  to  be  fed  uniformly  as  follows: 
Boiled  oats  in  the  inorning,  vegetables,  such  as  cabbage  or 
turnips,  at  noon,  whole  wheat,  corn  or  buckwheat  at  night — the 
grain  to  be  placed  before  them  continuously  so  they  can  help 
themselves.     The  birds  are  also  to  have  a  liberal  supply  of  fresh 


38  ALL    ABOUT    BROILERS 

beef  bones  to  pick  at.  Gravel  should  be  on  the  floors  of  all  the 
pens.  There  being  serious  dissensions  regarding  the  value  of 
ovster  shells  and  the  use  of  sulphur,  it  will  be  desirable  to  sub- 
divide the  pens  and  to  give  one  lot  oyster  shells  and  the  other 
not.  Analvsis  should  be  made  of  the  manure  to  ascertain  the 
amount  of  carbonate  of  lime,  also  the  weight  of  ovster  shells 
should  be  taken,  as  well  as  the  amount  of  carbonate  of  lime  in 
the  egg-shells.  Sulphur  will  increase  the  fertility  of  the  egg — 
so  many  claim.  I  doubt  this,  and  do  not  understand  the  reason 
why  sulphur  should  influence  the  fertility  in  any  way,  except 
to  reduce  the  hen's  condition,  of  fat,  thereby  making  her  more 
active.  All  these  points  I  consider  valuable  for  experiment. 
The  test  will  readily  determine  the  best  fowl  for  the  farmer's 
use,  as  a  hen  must  be  both  a  good  layer  and  table-fowl  to  be  of 
any  profit  to  a  farmer.  It  is  claimed  that  the  Wyandottes,  Ply- 
mouth Rocks,  Light  Brahmas,  Dorkings,  Langshans  and  Indian 
Games  are  superior  for  this  purpose  and  the  truth  of  the  claim 
should  be  ascertained: 

I.     Which  lay  the  largest  eggs.^ 
Which  lay  the  most  eggs.^ 
Which  lay  the  best  colored  eggs.^ 
Which  have  the  best  colored  and  flavored  meat.'* 
Which  have  the  most  meat  and  the  least  offal  .^ 
Which  mature  the  quickest.^ 
Which  makes  the  best  broilers  at  ten  weeks.'' 
Which  makes  the  best  roasters  at  six  months.'' 
Which  sell  best  in  the  market.'' 
Which  consume  the  least  feed.? 
All  these  sections  should  be  scored  by  a  score-card,  giving 
each  section  lo  points — a  total  of  lOO.     For  example,  the  breed 
laying  the  largest  eggs  gets  lo  points.     This  is  the  standard ;  the 
eggs  to  be  weighed  by  the  dozen.     For  every  ounce  deficiency 
from  the  highest  score  for  a  dozen  in  the  weight  of  a  dozen  eggs, 
deduct  half  a  point.     The  other  sections  can  be   scored  by   per- 
centages and  comparison.     The  profit   per   hen    should  be  esti- 


AND    MARKET    POULTRY    GENERALLY.  39 

mated  bj  the  cost  of  the  production  of  the  eggs.  The  cost  of 
raising  and  feeding  the  chickens  should  be  deducted  from  the 
price  received  for  the  carcass  when  marketed,  which  determines 
the  profit  or  loss.  These  are  but  crude  suggestions;  but  thej 
are  of  sufficient  importance  to  all  interested  in  poultry,  and 
especiallj  to  farmers,  to  induce  our  experiment  stations  to  give 
a  little  attention  to  such  an  important  subject.  Although  the 
greatest  product  of  the  land,  poultry  and  eggs  are  not  receiving 
the  study  and  research  they  deserve. 

HOW  TO  MAKE  A  POULTRY  FARM  PAY. 

Before  we  are  so  ready  to  say  that  poultry  don't  pay,  let  us 
make  a  calculation  something  like  this.  Put  down  the  amount 
of  the  cost  of  buildings,  land,  and  stock.  Count  six  per  cent, 
interest  on  the  amount  for  one  year.  Say,  for  instance,  that 
you  invest  $500.  Six  per  cent,  of  that  would  make  $30.  Say 
that  the  land  occupied  costs  $100;  buildings,  $200;  supplies 
necessary,  $50.  One  hundred  and  fifty  hens  at  $1  each  to  make 
up  the  $500.  Now  for  a  calculation:  Interest  on  $500  is  $30; 
feed  per  annum  for  fowls,  $150,  total  $180.  Now  150  hens 
should  lay  15,000  eggs,  that  is,  counting  100  eggs  for  each  hen. 
An  average  of  ij^"  cents  per  egg  is  not  high  by  any  means, 
especiaily  when  near  a  city  market.  That  would  yield  $235  for 
eggs.  The  manure  from  150  fowls  should  amount  to  at  least 
200  bushels,  we  gather  very  closely,  and  get  an  average  of  250 
bushels.  Count  200  bushels  of  manure  at  50  cents  a  bushel  and 
we  have  $100.  Now  for  another  calculation:  15,000  eggs  $225, 
manure  from  flock  $100,  total  $325.  Receipts  $325,  expenses 
$180,  profit  $145.  That'  is  not  much  profit  you  say.  Certainly 
not.  But  it  is  an  in'/estment  that  has  paid  you  6  per  cent,  with 
a  profit  of  one-fourth  the  investment.  Show  us  the  business,  if 
you  can,  that  will  net  a  larger  dividend  than  that  on  an  invest- 
ment of  only  $500.  The  great  trouble  is  the  manure  goes  to 
waste,  and  the  eggs  and  poultry  consumed  are  never  taken  into 
account,  and  the  profits  are  only  measured  by  the  actual  sales 
after  the  full   expense  is   counted.     We   have  seen  men  invest 


40 


ALL    ABOUT    BROILERS 


more  money  in  feeding  hogs  than  they  could  buy  the  meat  at 
retail — yet  the  hogs  are  great  things  to  them.  They  never  look 
at  the  cost  of  swine,  but  poultry  has  all  the  blunt  to  bear.  Now 
in  our  calculation,  take  notice,  we  merely  call  for  eggs.  It  is  an 
egg  product  we  are  figuring  upon.  Add  sufficient  male  birds  to 
the  flocks  and  raise  broilers  and  roasters— lessen  your  egg  pro- 
duct, and  add  the  income  from  several  hundred  broilers,  and  a 
hundred  or  more  roasters,  and  it  will  readily  be  seen  that  the 
farm  is  yielding  25  per  cent,  and  the  investment  will  soon  be 
refunded. — Germantown,  Pa.,  Telegraph. 

All  good  poultrymen  keep  themselves  thoroughly  posted  in 
the  markets.  They  have  their  stock  in  readiness,  and  ship 
whenever  the  prices  are  good.  It  is  a  mistake  to  hold  over  too 
many  birds  expecting  a  jump  in  prices,  as  the  extra  cost  to  keep 
the  stock  over  is  often  greater  than  the  difference  in  price. 


Photomount 
Pamphlet 


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^--fr^t'tiS 


